Legg Mason loss swells to $1.49 billion

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Legg Mason
LM, +0.18%
the Baltimore asset management firm, said its third-quarter loss ballooned to $1.49 billion, or $10.55 a share, from $103.8 million, or 74 cents a share. The company took a write-down in its wealth management unit of $6.03 a share, a $3.63 a share hit on efforts to reduce structured investment vehicle exposure, a $1.07 a share hit on additional support for liquidity funds and a 16 cents a share hit from lost sublease income from "a major investment bank which had declared bankruptcy." Assets under management dropped 17% to $698.2 billion from Sept. 30 levels. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for a loss of $2.83 a share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.

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